A Change in Atmospheres
by Izaya-chi
Summary: Ulquiorra moves to the human world to help find a "purpose"; Grimmjow collects the seemingly dead Nnoitra and Szayelapporo and also flees to the human world, fearing the crazed Mayuri. Story is so much better than the summary, I promise! GrimmUlqui, NnoiSzay; yaoi.
1. Prologue: Choice

**Disclaimer: **I do not, in any way, shape, and/or form, own _Bleach_. Otherwise this wouldn't be a _fan-_fiction. However, the random human fans/audiences are mine [basically character additions to highlight the story].

**Author's Note:** Wow, I really miss typing up my stories. I wish I had more time to get back into my gear, but unfortunately college and my advanced classes have a huge grasp on me and aren't letting go anytime soon. Including blasted drama and the thought that "I NEED A JOB" never releasing it's tight hold, either. I also have a club of my own to keep together and it's starting to fall apart form my constant absences due to drama club. Man, I'm SO sorry guys! When I'm in college I'll make a schedule to allow time for myself to write, okay? ^^

**11/19/12:** I had my friend Emily go through this prologue and chapter one as a beta-reader for me since she's so smart (she's so nice to do this for me considering she hates anime xD and the only thing she asked for was if there was sex, though I don't think she'd enjoy homosexual intercourse being a pure straight girl such as herself. She's a _Fifty Shades of Grey_ fan, so it's to be expected…)

**A Change in Atmospheres**

**Prologue**

**_Choice _**

Dulled, emerald green orbs moved to stare into panicked brown ones. Oh, how confused he was as to why his enemy was helping him. Well, she was supposed to serve them now, but was originally on the other team from the get-go. So why she was now helping him when her savior had already saved her was against him. "What are you doing, girl? Aren't you going to run off with the Ryouka boy now and destroy Aizen-sama?"

A drop of sweat streamed down the girl's face; she was already expecting the interrogation. "Ichigo has already taken his leave and I have decided to heal you for my own sake, because I can't stand the thought of letting somebody die. This is my choice, so deal with it. oh, and if you try to attack me, I have plenty of friends to back me up."

He stared at her for a while longer then shut his eyes and turned his head the other way. "...I see...it amazes me, yet again, how you managed to bring me back from the dust I was…"

"Heh, if I can bring Ichigo back from the dead, it doesn't surprise me that I can do the same for you." She smiled weakly and dimmed her eyes a bit, almost starting to regret her decision.

"Hey Inoue! Can you hurry it up?! I kind of want to watch Ichigo beat up that fucktard Aizen!" Renji bellowed somewhere beyond the two.

"Yeah, just a minute! Can you handle it on your own now?" She looked back down at Ulquiorra after replying to the crazy red pineapple head.

"Yes; I have regeneration too, you know..." He opened his eyes and turned his head to look back at her again. His thoughts immediately went to Grimmjow and his welfare. He focused on pinpointing his reiatsu, but only managed to pick up weak snippets of it. _He's probably beyond help by now, so I might as well not even bother to ask the girl to help him,_ Ulquiorra thought dreadfully, wanting badly to sob into a pillow like pathetic human. He had found it quite relieving from past "misunderstanding" quarrels he had with Grimmjow. _Grimmjow...what am I to do without you..._

"Well, I'll be leaving now." The orange, transparent oval cracked and burst into tiny shards around him as Orihime stood up to take her leave. "Maybe I'll see you in the near future. Goodbye for now, Ulquiorra Schiffer." And she left on that note, running full speed ahead to catch up to her rookie friends.

Ulquiorra slowly forced his ass up–even though it pained him very much to do so–and looked all around him at the rubble among the vast desert. _What am I to do now? Help Aizen-sama, or continue on in this dump?_ In all honesty, he didn't really want to help the traitorous asshole. He had used the arrancar as if they were merely his own pawns in a human's game of chess and didn't seem to care one bit when one passed away. Tools of destruction that Aizen knew all-too-well would fight on to their own demise. Why should he continue to serve the bastard? Grimmjow was right all along; betrayal would've been much kinder to them. Now he might as well go off to find purpose in human life, as a human in a gigai. He didn't really know how to do that what with his only gigai source defeated, but he had a good idea. Kisuke Urahara's shop that Aizen had once brought up when referring to the ever-so-amazing hogyoku that this Urahara had created. Yes, that sounded like a good plan, a good plan indeed. But first, he had to un-release his sword.

/

A little girl with jet black hair pulled up into twin tails–much like Loly had–and a really sad expression peered out at the scary emo man before her and ran back to get Kisuke before he caused havoc, which she strongly disapproved of. "Urahara-senpai! I think there's an arrancar in front of the stop! Please deal with him before Jinta finds out!" Her feet, bare, glided across the hardwood floor with ease, running quietly to avoid rousing the violent boy from his slumber.

"Really now? Could you somehow take care of him on your own? I have Soul Society matters to deal with since I sealed Aizen's powers." Kisuke Urahara suddenly appeared and called out, but froze when his eyes met the emotionless green orbs that suddenly appeared before his desk. "Oh, it's you. Never mind then, Ururu–I'll have to deal with this one myself. Go run along and find Jinta–this could get messy."

"O-okay, Urahara-senpai..." She nodded timidly and ran past Ulquiorra, back into the outside world to find the young rascal.

Ulquiorra kept his green eyes on Kisuke, not bothering to watch the youngster's motives. "There is no need for such precautions, Soul Reaper, I am simply here to request a favor."

"Oh?~ Pray tell." Kisuke picked up a fan, pulled out a chair and sat down, fanning his face to his heart's content while awaiting the ex-Espada's story. Soul Society could wait.

"I plan to make this as brief as possible, seeing as you are quite busy at the moment."

"Oh no, go on, I never cared for the Society's crazy politics, anyhow. That's why I left; to freely invent cool gadgets as I please." Kisuke smiled creepily behind the black and gold swirls paper fan, bemused.

"Have it your way, then." Ulquiorra relaxed a tiny bit, preparing for his monologue. "After I was shamefully defeated by the Ryouka boy, I had re-awoken to the Hime-girl's face looking sodden as she had taken on the burden of actually bringing me back from the dust I had become. At first, I wanted to run off to Aizen-sama's side and help him, but thought better of it. Why help the guy that knew your fate before you even did and played you like it was the opposite of what your fate really was? So I thought about what to do with my restored life and decided to find the purpose in human life. Since I was created to represent "emptiness" by Aizen-sama, I want to prove it wrong by actually finding a purpose. So I come to you in hopes that you will aid me in my journey since our scientist is currently deceased. Of course, I do plan to eventually repay you for your kindness and promise to not harm a single hair on any human being. If I ever disprove my loyalty, you can call upon your Soul Society friends and have me executed for the disgrace. Thank you for hearing me out, Mr. Urahara." He bowed to him then stood straight once again, paying no mind to the peeping toms just outside the shop's entrance.

"Please, call me Kisuke. Well–how should I respond to this–this actually sounds quite appealing. I'd be more than happy to help you, seeing as you are so diligent about this–and don't worry about the payment, I usually do deals free of charge for friends, anyways. You must've been Aizen's favorite–I can just tell from your undying loyalty. Come along now," he rose from his chair and motioned for Ulquiorra to follow, "I'll go prepare a permanent gigai for you and we can discuss how we will situate you in the human world in the back. And of course there is a way to exit the gigai, it's just harder than most and kind of painful."

"There is no need for you to figure out how I will be situated; I already had my death certificate revoked through a means of small threats." He walked around the counter and followed Urahara into the back room.

"Ohohoho, how interesting~" Kisuke giggled and fanned himself some more.

**6**

Grimmjow snapped awake with a start from his horrid nightmare. Upon awakening, his many wounds started giving him pain all at once. "Ah, fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck _fuck_! Heal already, damn it!" he cursed relentlessly to himself while holding his right arm and rocking back and forth. He finally stopped after the pain had let up some and took a stand, studying his surroundings. That same red cylinder was still there in front of him albeit the rubble around it from other buildings. _Where is everyone? The only spiritual pressure I feel is some shinigami's, but he's pretty distant from me._ He turned to his right and could feel a very faint spiritual pressure. _Who is...only one way to find out, suppose._ He sonídoed over to the pressure and looked down at the bloody heap with pity. _And you called me weak! Well guess who's still standing, asshole!_ He kicked the seemingly lifeless body that was Nnoitra and only laughed when the small reiatsu wavered weakly. He nudged it on its back and bent down to peer at its face. "Still wanna live, chump?" No response. "Well, I'm a go see about that other weak reiatsu and get back to you later. That is, if you're still living by then." He laughed darkly and stood up, heading back toward the main headquarters to the other reiatsu–he had a good feeling that it was that pink-haired freak, though. Nonetheless, he had to go confirm his suspicions.

He sonídoed somewhere outside Szayelapporos Grantz's laboratory and blinked at the stiff scientist just standing with his arm outstretched like an idiot in the middle of the desert. "The fuck? Cat got your tongue or something, pink freak?" He walked over to stand in front of the forever-shocked scientist.

"I-is that you, Grimmjow? P-please, p-put m-m-me out of my m-my misery, I-I b-beg of you..." His lips didn't even move; mouth frozen agape.

"What fucker did this to you? It looks like your petrified from the waist-up." Grimmjow furrowed his brows in confusion at the strange case, unbeknownst to the cause just a few miles distant from him.

"Another scientist, now please—end me from this t-torment."

Grimmjow contemplated his choices. "Nah, I think I'm gonna have you healed; I just received a genius idea and could use you for it." He snatched up the scientist and threw him to hang over his shoulder. "I gotta hurry back to Nnoitra now before the big baby dies on me, heh heh." Filled with renewed ambition, Grimmjow raced back over to where Nnoitra still lied and threw him onto his other shoulder. He tore open a gargantua, stepped into it, and awaited the world of the living once more. As he looked over the vast desert, he tried again to feel for Ulquiorra's reiatsu, but there was no hope: the reiatsu was completely gone, almost as if he had vanished. _Ulquiorra...I am so sorry, my love..._

/

Grimmjow's cerulean eyes cautiously took in the surroundings of the little shop before him, his mind remembering of how the bastard once went on about this place. "Tch, doesn't look like it's much of a shop at all," he growled and shifted the dead weights on his shoulders, a little tired of carrying the two. He snapped his head to his left when he felt a small reiatsu approaching. Alert, he dashed inside the shop to avoid a battle, no matter how weak the person was, he was in no shape for that at the moment.

"Where're you going, chicken?" came a small, male voice at the entrance of the shop.

"Oh shut up, kid, I'm not here to pick a fight so calm down." He snarled inside the shop and looked around for the exuberant shop owner.

"I'm back from the meeting~" the crazy shop owner appeared right on time behind the little boy. Grimmjow turned around and almost dropped his jaw at what the fool wore. "Oh? Well, well, well what do we have here? I must be quite the popular guy to receive such visitors yet again!" Grimmjow narrowed his eyes and tried to ignore the weirdo's tone. "Now before you go on, lemme take a guess at what you want because I already have a good idea: you want me to help your two friends there and also to situate you in the human world and in return you won't hurt any humans, correct?"

"Che, you a fortune teller or something?"

"You could say that. Now follow me into the back so I can examine your two friends, though I can't say I can do much for them seeing as they are in pretty bad shape." He walked up to Grimmjow and motioned for him to follow. He walked around the desk and into a back room. He pointed to a clean table for Grimmjow to lay one of the bodies on and made to clear off another one for the other.

Grimmjow laid down Szayelapporos, who needed the more immediate help, and then walked over to the now-clear table to get rid of the second dead weight.

"Well," Kisuke started after he took one good look at Szayelapporos, "I believe I might need Miss Inoue's assistance because I'd rather not call over Ms. Unohana."

"That Hime bitch? Lovely, because I need to see her and fucking Kurosaki again," Grimmjow growled rather menacingly.

Kisuke turned from Szayelapporos' body and gave Grimmjow a look of pity. "If you don't want to be exterminated by Soul Society, then you really have no choice."

"Tch." Grimmjow looked at the ground, his eyes flashing with pure hatred. He clenched his fists in anger. "Alright, send them over. Just make sure that I don't have to see them, capeace?" He stood up and looked for a place to hide while cloaking his reiatsu best he could.

"Not to be rude, but you're in pretty bad shape yourself, arrancar. You could die from blood-loss at any moment." He said in his most serious tone.

"Che, fuck it; I'd rather not die. Just tell her that it's private and to come alone at least. I'd rather not see Kurosaki." _He killed Ulquiorra, fucking prick. Well I suppose it's somewhat my fault, but still..._He watched Kisuke exit the room to make the dreaded call with a deep scowl on his face. He wouldn't cry. Not here and not now, at least. Maybe later...when he was alone.

"She's on her way now!" Kisuke had once again entered the room and walked up to Grimmjow, who now looked even paler than before. "Hmmm, your condition seems to be getting worse; let me go get some bandages." He walked over to a large closet, opened it, and retrieved what appeared to be a large first aid kit.

Grimmjow was too lost in his memories of the times he spent with Ulquiorra to notice—much less _care _about_—_Kisuke wrapping bandages around his worst wounds.

"U-um excuse me, Mr. Urahara, but I-I'm here now," came a timid voice just beyond the room they were in.

Grimmjow snapped out of his reverie the second he heard it and growled menacingly. Great; she's here.

"We're back here, Miss Inoue~" Kisuke called back to the voice merrily and Grimmjow instantly pictured him waving a fan in his face like a creeper. _He looks like he'd do something like that constantly_.

"G-Grimmjow?!" Orihime gasped and covered her mouth the second she walked back there. "Wh-what...well that explains why you wanted me alone, but _why_?"

Grimmjow snorted at how dense she was. "To be healed, obviously! Nnoitra and Szayelapporos are in such a bad state that we absolutely _had_ to resort to you."

"...Oh," she finally said after taking in Grimmjow's irritated shouts.

"Oh-hohohohoho, don't worry about him, just go ahead and focus on the other two please, Orihime~" Kisuke gave her a reassuring smile. Or at least what he _thought_ was one, but it looked more like a creeper smile to Grimmjow.

"U-um, may I ask why you're helping arrancars out, Mr. Urahara?" Though it was not like she hadn't done so herself; she _had_ saved her captor from near-death, after all.

"Ah~ Funny you should ask when I _know_ that you helped one out yourself, considering the guy visited me earlier. He liked to talk."

Though unfortunately for Grimmjow, he had fainted from too much blood loss before he could hear Kisuke's response.

"Oh, poo~ the poor baby fainted."

Orihime gasped upon hearing this, a little worried for his sake. "Ayame!" she called out and the little guy made the orange, transparent barrier much larger.

"So," Kisuke whispered into Orihime's ear, having snuck up behind her, "why'd you help out the guy who kidnapped you, eh?"

Chills instantly went down Orihime's spine and she gulped.

/

When Grimmjow awoke again, he found himself lying in a small hospital-like bed and a pink-haired guy glaring over at him from a chair nearby. "What the, Szayel...?"

"So you're finally awake? Good then I'll cut right to the chase–why didn't you just kill me like I asked? Do you know how fucking _painful_ that was? Ah, it gives me chills just thinking of that torment I went through now!" Szayelapporos hugged himself in psychological pain and glared back at Grimmjow again. "Besides, I'll never be able to return to my lab again, so what do you expect me to accomplish in this dump?"

"Well, if you were listening to me when I picked you up, you'd know that I said I had a good idea," Grimmjow growled, a little irritated because he bothered to save this asshole.

"So what does this genius idea of yours entail, eh?" Nnoitra leered around the corner and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well," Grimmjow started, "I was thinking..." ■

**Author's E/N:** Chapter One is coming up _real_ soon, so don't fret readers! I'm almost done~! Expect it to appear either today or tomorrow, actually, woot woot~!


	2. I: A Year's Worth of Change

**Disclaimer: **I do not, in any way, shape, and/or form, own _Bleach_. Otherwise this wouldn't be a _fan-_fiction. However, the random human fans/audiences are mine [basically character additions to highlight the story]. I also do not own the second song in this chapter, but the first is my creation…!

**Author's Note:** Here's chapter one, guys/gals! I hope you enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed typing it~!

**Key**

Word—text and/or express on word in the middle of thoughts

_Word_—thoughts and/or express on word

**Word**—extreme emphasis on shouting and/or word of "meaning"

WORD—change of scene and/or character shouting

[Number]—change of POV according to Espada rank

**A Change in Atmospheres**

**I**

_**A Year's Worth of Change**_

**One Year Later**…

Clear yet visible light poured through the sparkling glass of the well-kept window in the tidy kitchen. The gray light was the perfect addition to the gaunt kitchen that might as well be a sepulcher. In fact, the whole titanium-bronze alloyed castle in its entirety might as well be with its distraught atmosphere, yet sumptuous at the same time. If only the sumptuous castle wasn't so feckless, then it could make for a great home for many a lifetime. Although it was gloomy, it was kept clean and devoid of any random, murky areas. The cleanliness was ubiquitous for such a huge and barren place, but that only made it _slightly_ enjoyable; for one needs a jocular atmosphere if one wishes for guests.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case for this young fellow.

Ulquiorra Schiffer drew a hand across his ivory forehead in a failed attempt to remove his ebony bangs from his eyes, knowing full well that they were not quite long enough to tuck behind the ears—and never will be. His emerald-jade, agnostic doe eyes scanned the dead kitchen with their usual acuity, eventually ceasing their intermittent search yet again when a crusted spider came into view. He stood tall and began his graceful stride over to the daily filth for the fiftieth time that day. Spiders were quite common in the house; however, _deceased_ spiders were actually rather rare. He crouched down to the spotless tiles in front of the pristine white wall, knees bent, and examined the verdant critter as skeptically as he did any other material. He blew at the lifeless spider, eyes flashing when its tiny body shimmered beneath the light. What a curious shade this spider was. He wondered if he had just discovered a new breed and began tallying just what the reward would be for such a discovery. He leaned forward and precariously pinched the spider between his index finger and his thumb, careful not to mare the specimen any more than what the spider's short lifetime may have cost it. He brought it up to eye-level and turned it this way and that, easily memorizing every detail. It sure was different, with its glimmering, dark green and metallic black fuzzy body. Without a critical eye, the ordinary viewer would've missed the small tufts of cerulean blue at the tip of each antenna. It sure was a color like no other spider he had seen before in his amount of days spent in the human realm.

Huh.

Standing tall once again, he wiped the dust from his new black skinnies then walked over to the first drawer in the kitchen. He quickly opened it and pulled out a Zip-lock bag, holding it against his leg and slipping his free hand into the bag so as to get it unstuck. He retrieved his hand and held it open disdainfully as he hesitantly dropped the deceased creature into the bag, taking precautions so as not to mar the tiny critter. As closed the bag, he allowed his thoughts to wander back in time, but not so far that it drew him into an emotional depression; he didn't much like human emotion and the distress it brought with it.

How long _has_ it been? Six human months? Ten? A _year_? Yes, it had indeed been a whole human year since his resurrection. How could it have been that long already? He shut his eyes, disheartening images flitting before them so he reopened them and swiftly turned around on his heels, reburying the painful memories for the fourth time that human day. Why did it have to hurt so? He thought only physical pain existed in its temporary reprieve, but ever since he experienced "human" emotions…_no; you've gotten through this many a-time before, so be gone, nefarious truths!_ Ulquiorra abruptly shook his head and started to his study as his next destination, replacing his dark thoughts with having his assistant look up the odd spider species.

ELOQUENTLY DESCENDING THE MARBLE STAIRCASE, Ulquiorra reached for the small chain above him and pulled, causing the bulb to glow a bright yellow-white, illuminating the desolate space around him; the basement was the only area he couldn't care less for of what state it was in.

Five minutes had passed since he returned to the enervated manor from his visit to his office at Harajuka Enterprise, and already his thoughts were muddled with images of the past. Why couldn't the dreaded fragments leave him be? Wishing to distract himself, he had turned to the basement to gather his banal gardening tools, praying that the tedious business would do the trick. He snatched up his hand-woven basket filled with them and pulled down the chain again, reluctantly ascending the marble stairway yet again. Even if it was not at all reprieving; at least he'd have newly-trimmed roses tainted black.

**10**

WHAT SEEMED TO STRETCH ON ENDLESSLY AS IF IN ETERNAL MEASURE, Yammy fell from the black-turned-purple sky. He wondered just how much longer he would continue to drop. It wasn't _his_ fault that a random flying chicken came into his line of sight, tantalizing him into stepping out of the safety of the gargantua to capture the livid thing. Then, like a true fool, he had quickly found himself descending the frigid human sky at high speeds, completely misplacing his knowledge of how to "stand on thin air". Oh, what a stupid fool he was [and still is].

He passed through yet another cloud and a sudden sneeze itched at his internals as a result. He managed to release the damned blast of spit and air, then crossed his arms, getting comfortable with his predicament. He yawned and, again, wondered just how much longer he was going to fall. Surely it couldn't be _too_ much longer; the human sky couldn't be _that_ vast!

…

Right?

Yammy stretched out his aching legs before him as the harsh and frigid air whipped mercilessly against his back when he noticed that the sky had turned to a light blue. Whoa, so now it went from purple to blue like how it went from black to purple before? Did that mean he would be landing soon? _Oh, this better_—

His thoughts were cut off as he made rough contact with the earth, his prolonged force from speed/acceleration and large mass causing a huge hole to mar the grass beneath him. Well, what _used_ to be the grass, at least. He scowled, howled, bickered, and bitched about how awful a landing that was and stood up, holding his back with one hand as he bent forward and the other hand resting on his knee. "Ohhhhhhhhh _man_ did that _hurt…_!" He cried and rubbed his back continuously. He suddenly popped open his squeezed eyes when he felt bile rise in his throat. "Oh, _fuuuuuuu_…"

He was unable to finish his sentence, hacking up the contents of his last, hearty meal [consisting of mainly hollows, of course, considering there are no chickens in Hueco Mundo].

"Ugh," he wiped carelessly at his bulbous lips, "there goes that golden roast [well, golden _hollow_]…" He squinted his eyes at what looked to be petunias and black roses not very far before him. "What the…" Being one to voice his thoughts, he looked around him and carelessly shouted, "Is this a garden?", exasperated.

"Isn't that obvious enough," answered a calm, monotonous voice from his left. Yammy whipped his head to the right moodily.

"Who said that?" He [finally] looked to his left, only to see a petite male with shaggy ebony hair and deprived emerald eyes. "Ulquiorra…?" He gaped. Ulquiorra hesitantly stepped forward then, allotting a few moments of time to pass before parting his lips to speak.

"You're even more unintelligent than in my recollections, Yammy Llargo."

**4**

TAKING HIS TIME WITH APPLYING HIS GARDENING GLOVES, Ulquiorra had stopped before the living room sofa to set down his gardener basket in order to dress in his gardening gear, when a huge '_kaboom!_' resonated from outside, affecting his manor by filling it with uncomfortable vibrations. _What was that?_ It seemed to be coming from his garden, so he quickly pulled on the second glove and scooped up the basket, accelerating his stride to a faster pace in order to quickly feed his curiosity. He did live in the middle of nowhere, after all.

He opened the back, wooden maroon door just in time to hear Yammy's thoughtless outburst. The big guy always had been quite the stupid one. "Isn't it obvious enough?" He made sure to come out like his usual self so-as to give the lout a hint, but then he pulled another hair-brained move: he looked in the _other_ direction. Was the idiot so _dumb_ that he couldn't figure out something as simple as pinpointing the direction of sound? Or had he grown deaf?

"Who said that?" The baka finally turned to face Ulquiorra and jaw-dropped upon laying eyes on him. "Ulquiorra…?" He gaped like a guppy.

"You're even more unintelligent than in my recollections, Yammy Llargo." He finally spoke after he stepped from the marble porch. "What brings you here to my human manor?" He dared not draw any closer and awaited the idiot's response patiently.

"Wh-what do you mean, what brings me here? I thought you died!" He stepped toward him. "I mean, I _know_ you did—I felt your presence _vanish_ like dust in the wind!"

Ulquiorra visibly sighed and motioned for Yammy to follow him. He wondered if the idiot had any brain cells to notice that he had quoted a human song by some band called _Kansas_. Then again, the only reason Ulquiorra had such knowledge was because he was forced to listen to a human thing called 'music' in the office because his assistant blared the beats every day as well as other raucous morons outside his secluded box. "Come along now, Yammy, let's go talk inside."

The brute immediately brightened up and took a large step forward, causing his recent vomit to slosh around his foot. "Do you have any chicken, perhaps? This flying chicken passed me earlier and…"

Ulquiorra tuned him out, currently transfixed by the rotten, chunky liquid around Yammy's foot. He narrowed his eyes visibly, wrinkled his nose, and glared at it in utter disgust.

"How vile."

**6**

PULLING DOWN HIS SHADES TO ONCE AGAIN COVER HIS CERULEAN EYES, Grimmjow pushed open the heavy double doors after receiving confirmation from the other two. The crowd from both sides of the velvet carpet erupted into even louder cheers and squeals than before upon spotting the rambunctious blunette, the pink-haired wonder, and the long-haired, violet eyed prick. Camera flashes appeared from all around, making Grimmjow—yet again—realize just how grateful he was for the human invention of sunglasses. He was sure his gigai would've gone blind before without them to aid him. He stuck his hands in his pockets, feeling bare, when his left hand felt something soft. Growling, he pulled it out, saw it was a tissue, and threw it back into the crowd behind him rudely, simply wanting to rid of the trash. The fan-girls mauled it like wild animals and even fought one another for it. It was brutal, but also humorous to witness.

Once the limousine doors shut behind them and the tinted windows went up, the popular trio burst into hysterical laughter:

"That was so vulgar yet so hilarious at the same time," Szayelapporos cackled.

"And did you see that girl's _face_?" Nnoitra looked to his right at Szayelapporos and Grimmjow and almost teared up in overwrought joy.

"_Priceless!_" The three chimed in unison and howled together; then recollected their former dignities and wiped at their eyes.

"So why are we doing this band thing, anyways?" Szayelapporos brought up again, after a year of ignoring the question. "And just why would we name ourselves, _Espada Reborn_? How lame is _that_?"

"Does there always have to be a reason why with you, Szayelapporos Grantz?" Grimmjow examined his thumb closely, out of boredom, and tapped his nails against the door handle; distraught.

"Yeah, what Grimmjow said," Nnoitra joined in. "'Sides—I kind of like it~" He slurred and giggled unprofoundly.

Szayelapporos looked at him in disgust and face-palmed. "Yes, but there has to be a deeper _meaning_ to the title to name it as such." He turned to Grimmjow, who sighed in turn and leaned back in his seat. "Pray tell, good Sexta."

"It just serves as a good reminder of our past lives and what we lost, okay?" Now of course Grimmjow knew the _real_ answer, but he wasn't about to tell the pink-haired fairy, _especially_ when in front of the spoon. That guy hates 'faggots' with a burning passion, and he wasn't about to give him more of an excuse to pick on him. Hell to the _no_!

"Huh. That's an odd reason. Why ever would you want to be reminded of that bastard?" Nnoitra nudged Szayelapporos so that the force of his inertia would cause him to bump Grimmjow in a ripple effect. Grimmjow rolled his eyes after getting shoved and rested his head on the door's window.

"Obviously not the Aizen part, you guys know I hate that fucker." Grimmjow observed the many cars they passed and frowned, trying his best not to let the memories of his past cloud his brain.

"…oh come on now, Szayel, I'm sure you'll _enjoy_ it~" Nnoitra inched closer to Szayelapporos so that their legs were touching. Szayelapporos inched away in turn and ended up bumping Grimmjow again, who was too lost in his thoughts to notice nonetheless care.

"I-I don't know about this, Nnoitra." He glanced at Grimmjow, then back to Nnoitra. "Plus, Grimmjow's in here and what would he think of us…?"

Nnoitra sighed and ran his long fingers through his jet-black hair, squeezing his eyes shut. "Like I give a _fuck_ what he thinks!" He popped open his eyes and licked his lips, "now come 'ere, pinky~" His eyes flashed haughtily and he snaked his arms around Szayelapporos, scooping him up to sit on his lap. He lifted up Szayelapporos' chin to face him and gazed into his topaz eyes for a few sweet moments before mashing his thin lips against Szayelapporos' in an erotic fashion.

Grimmjow closed his eyes and banged his forehead against the car window. He scowled, remembering the biggest mistake of his hollow life and cracked open his eyes again, shaking his head violently. He wasn't in the mood to have a breakdown; especially in front of Nnoitra and Szayelapporos. He sighed and turned his head to address Szayelapporos about where they should go next when he caught sight of what they were _doing_. Jaw-dropping, Grimmjow widened his eyes and he smacked his back against the door. "Wh-what the _hell_?! Why couldn't you two wait until we reached the hotel? _Porque_?!" It wasn't that he personally cared what they did or how they acted, it was just that it filled him with envy to see that they could 'love' each other while his mate was deceased, forever out of his reach. Szayelapporos had jumped into the air upon hearing Grimmjow's shouts and ended up hitting his head on the roof of the limousine. He pushed off Nnoitra and scooted back into his place next to Grimmjow, dusting off his pants.

"S-sorry," he mumbled and looked at his brown, gradient skinny jeans meekly, picking at one of the tear designs on it. Grimmjow's face relaxed into an impassive state and he turned to lean back in the cushion seat again, propping his elbow onto the side door to rest his cheek on his palm.

"Whatever; let's just take Nnoitra's jeep next time so that this doesn't happen." _I take that back—can't believe I never noticed they were gay with each other!_

"What's up your ass, Grimmjow?" Nnoitra smirked slyly at him. "Someone jelly?"

"_No!_" Grimmjow snapped then knit his brows together. "…I'm peanut butter." Nnoitra _and_ Szayelapporos burst into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"Man, let's just get home already and prepare for the next concert on this Tokyo tour. Have you chosen the special song for our next location?" Nnoitra attempted to change the subject.

"Yeah," Grimmjow peered out the window once again when "The Comfort Zone" came into view. "Don't worry about that—I already decided on it."

/

"OHHHHH MY GOSH, Debby, you _have_ to see this!" A bubbly, cherubic young girl with pink hair pulled up into a simple black clip bounded toward her trusty co-worker—and also her best friend—Debby.

Debby sighed and dropped the lettuce onto the BLT she was working on. "And just _what_ might it be _this_ time, 'Tasha?" She turned to face the over-exuberant girl and raised an eyebrow, giving her head a slight bobble as well for greater effect. She watched Natasha delicately lean against the sandwich counter and clutch at her 'heart' dramatically, taking in deep breaths.

"I…think…that…uh…" She coughed and wheezed, wiping at her tanned forehead dramatically. Debby rolled her eyes at her.

"Come _on_, 'Tasha!" She stabbed her knife into the cutting board. "Get on with it already; I have a BLT to finish." She rested a hand on her hip and glared at her, not wishing to lose her only job.

"N-Noitra's jeep f-from…_Espada Reborn_ i-is out there, w-waiting for us t-take their order—ah-yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeee!" She shook her head back-and-forth and jumped up and down in pure joy. Debby's serious face quickly lightened up and she joined Natasha in her happy dance, clapping alongside her.

"Are you _serious_?! That is _awesome_! Ah-hahahahahaha!" She squealed and was unaware to their boss approaching them from behind and plugging his ears from their sounds of excitement.

"Ladies, _ladies_!" Natasha stopped jumping at once and covered her mouth, eyes bulging; Debby simply ceased jumping and ran a hand through her matted curly blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, turning around to look calmly at her boss. "I'm glad that you're having fun and all." He cocked an eyebrow at Natasha and she began picking at her nails, nervous. "But you're still at a working place and I expect you to _work_. So get back to that BLT, Debby, and you get back to the drive-in window already, Natasha." He threw his thumb over his shoulder and scowled, signaling the "or else I'll fire you" warning. He [finally] trotted off and Natasha looked up at Debby with wide eyes.

"_That was scary_," she mouthed then slowly turned around without tearing her gaze from Debby's straight face. Debby shook her head in disapproval and returned to her BLT, simply waving her hand at her.

Natasha bounced lightly when she reached her cash register again and adjusted her headset. "Hel~_lo!_ My name is Natasha and I'll be taking your order this evening, so how may I help you?~" She beamed into the mic, excited for when the notorious black jeep would pull up.

"_Well_, we don't take too lightly to the sandwiches here, but we enjoy the frappes." Nnoitra's snake-like voice talked into the speaker outside the local McDonald's next to their hotel. "So if you could just prepare three large mocha frappes, that would be grand, _Natasha~_" He leaned in close and breathed into the speaker as if attempting to flirt with her.

Natasha almost fainted upon hearing Nnoitra's sexy voice and had to take deep breaths to calm herself; her boss face-palmed behind her. "O-okay s-s-s-sir…! Just pull around to the n-next window, _please_!" She squeaked at the end, but still managed to articulate her words. She blinked a few times then leaned out of her confined space to stare at her diligent BFF Debby, still working away. Debby actually looked up from her fish filet and gave Natasha a look of pity. Who would want to be that person who has to address a celebrity at their job, being forced to contain their over joyous excitement? Not Debby; she felt sorry for Natasha and even though she wanted badly to see Nnoitra's face, she couldn't bring herself to wander over there in fear that she would faint.

The shiny black jeep approached the McDonald's drive-thru window and there stood Natasha behind the window, beaming like an idiot. Nnoitra was staring out of his window with a creeper smile plastered on his face while pulling up the whole time, too. "_Hey there~_"

Natasha's jaw-dropped and she pressed a button on the cash register, making the cash tray pop open. "Th-that would be 835 yen please, s-s-s-sir," she managed to say after forcing herself to open the window.

Again, her boss face-palmed behind her and turned around with his hands flung up in the air as if saying, "I don't know what to do with her."

**5**

RECLINING IN HIS LEATHER-BOUND SEAT, Nnoitra stared into the McDonald's drive-thru window with the most disturbing smile on his face. The girl behind the cash register, _Natasha_, visibly shook as she prepared their frappes. It was quite amusing, to say the least.

"Nnoitra, could you stop looking at the girl like you want to eat her? It's disturbing." Nnoitra craned his neck to peer into the back seat and grinned.

"You're just jelly because she's _female_ and she has _pink_ hair, huh?" He reached back and pinched Szayelapporos' cute nose. Szayelapporos smacked his hand away in turn and readjusted his glasses.

"Must I repeat what Grimmjow said yesterday? And her hair is _dyed_ while mine is _natural_—there's a difference!" Szayelapporos screeched and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and looking to his right with a pout. Nnoitra's grin grew broader and he brought his hand back.

"Suit yourself, babe, but the truth is quite obvious enough~" He caught Grimmjow rolling his eyes in the passenger seat out of his eye and frowned. What was wrong with the kitty lately? He looked back to the window again and rested his head in his palm. The cash-register girl was currently holding hands with another girl with curly blonde hair and they were jumping up and down in time with one another, appearing to be squealing their heads off because the "boss" was definitely _yelling_ his head off. There was also a complaining old man behind the counter inside the Mickey D's because his cash register man was currently squealing along with the fan girls. Were they _that_ famous already? Human girls could be quite crazy…oh; the boss was approaching the window now, and man did he look _angry_. He opened the window-door and sighed, trying to mask his true feelings about the situation.

"I am terribly sorry for the wait, sirs, would you like a free sandwich to make up for it?"

"No, no—we'd rather not, thank you." Nnoitra gave his best business smile.

"Well." The old Japanese boss snatched up the drink carrier from Natasha and held it out to Nnoitra. "Here are your beverages and I hope you have a good day!"

"Good luck at the concert!" The girls giggled in the background and the old boss instantly snapped at them as the window shut. Nnoitra lifted off of the brake and pressed down on the gas pedal as the boss screamed away at them. Yep, the poor things were for sure getting fired. Oh well, it wasn't not like it mattered to him, anyways.

**6**

AS THE CAR CAME TO ANOTHER HALT AT A RED LIGHT, Grimmjow looked out the side window again and watched a random prep's many expression changes as she [finally] caught sight of him. She nudged the girl next to her in her little Prius and they squealed together in joy. Honestly, he just didn't understand why these girls got so damn excited over seeing them. He would agree that he was pretty damn sexy, but there were still other guys out there to choose from, and Grimmjow was not among them according to him. There was only one person he loved, and he was murdered. He could never love again after being so badly broken, he had decided. "Are we almost _there_, spoon-head?" The girl kept shooting him glances as they drove ahead and she struggled to keep up.

"I don't wear that anymore, so why do you still refer to me as that?!" Nnoitra scowled.

"Considering you still mock Gin and say _Grimmeow_, I don't think you have a say in this," Grimmjow growled at him, fed up with his shit.

"Alright alright, _yeesh_." Nnoitra took both hands off of the steering wheel and whipped his head to the left dramatically. "Let's just forget about all of this nonsense and have a great time at the stadium, _okay_?" Grimmjow rolled his eyes for the fiftieth time that evening.

"Never said I wasn't going to enjoy myself…"

STANDING BEHIND STAGE, Grimmjow looked to Nnoitra and Szayelapporos for confirmation of when to go out. He was wearing a white tank top with a brown leather jacket, blue gradient skinny jeans with blue converse (sneakers), and dog tags. The other two were pretty much wearing the same thing except Nnoitra's pants and converse were purple and Szayelapporos' were hot pink. Nnoitra nodded his head like a bobble head while Szayelapporos gave a slow, unsure nod. "Well we're going out there now, so be ready to jump right into our first number, boys!" He laughed and dashed out there, waving merrily to the screaming audience.

"_I LOVE YOU, GRIMMJOW!_" a random fan girl shouted trying to jump on stage; the guards had to pull her away. Grimmjow laughed a little awkwardly when he reached the microphone and shrugged, the crowd bursting into laughter at his response.

"I don't know how you guys could find shrugging off a girl's love confession humorous, but whatever floats your boat I suppose." The crowd laughed even harder at that. "Alright then, are you guys ready to hear some _dark_ music, because that's tonight's theme for our Tokyo tour!" He shouted into the mic to rile them up. It definitely worked, because the crowd went rather wild and he could hear a few people shout, "_I picked the best night, yeah!_" He laughed and thought to himself, _this one's for you, Ulquiorra; I wish you were still here to hear this…_

The stage went dark and a few sudden flashes of light appeared to have a lightning effect while Nnoitra played a crazy violin filled with the strongest, dark notes one could think of. It was definitely going to be a gothic night. Grimmjow wrapped his slender fingers around the mic and leaned forward when he sensed it was time for him to sing. "_Crimson…_" The front row went ballistic after hearing his majestic voice suddenly sing out amongst the midst of violin and electric piano harmony done by Szayelapporos, who knew to switch to drums once Grimmjow began the first verse. A few girls even fainted in the crowd, perverted males groping them as a result.

"_Permeates the air, /gleaming beneath the sun./Why do I care?_" Grimmjow lifted up his hands as if asking a question that would never be answered. "_But seeing you before me,/brings munificent emotions,_" he leaned forward into the mic again and drew his blue brows together. "_Why won't they go awa_y…?! _He elongated "away" and jumped up and down a little, beckoning the crowd to sing along with him.

"_I LOVE THIS SONG!_" Shockingly, a male screamed while Nnoitra started up his epic guitar playing and Szayelapporos slammed down his drum sticks.

"_What a twisted fate we have:/forced to play a major part in these 'wars'._" Nnoitra sung a small harmony in the background to enhance Grimmjow's 'we' while Grimmjow sang beautifully into the microphone. A lot of people liked his determined attitude, and that was part of the reason why they had so many fans. That and the fact that they were _hot_ and had a purpose to their band title unlike some druggies like the "Mushroom Heads". "_Our Forbidden Love intact,/We were 'written in the stars'./A Shakespearian-like ending,/already in the afterlife./No soul for a rebirthing/so still lies the question:_" Nnoitra walked up to Grimmjow's mic for the next line, "_Will I ever see you again_?_" They sang breathily to the crowd and Nnoitra immediately jumped back afterwards to grab his violin and play the after-chorus melody.

"_Ashes…/Cover up the moonlight," _Grimmjow looked solemnly to the ground as the strobe lights calmed down and flashed a little on his face. "_I struggle through the masses…_" He looked back up to the crowd. "_…of sand with little might._" He squeezed his eyes shut, then reopened them with a new-found light as he took the mic form its stand and crouched down at the edge of the stage, peering into the crowd with a scary look on his handsome features. "_The reaper close behind me,/Waiting out our evanescence._" He suddenly reached out into the crowd, but just as quickly jumped back as if shocked. "_Why must you crumble at my touch—can you hear me?!_" His face contorted into an angered expression on "can you hear me" and he practically screamed it. The crowd went nuts as he jumped back and began the chorus again, the strobe lights accompanying him in a flurry of flashing lights as he poured his heart out to the crowd, even though they would never understand what pain it caused him to sing such a "awesome" song. Nnoitra didn't jump back after singing alongside Grimmjow this time, but rather started the next line himself.

"_I'm sick of being loyal_," Nnoitra hummed and strung his guitar directly afterwards.

"_Fighting's no longer fun_," Grimmjow replied, making his voice a little scratchy on purpose for the part and tough.

"_Now I'm forever with the sandy soil,_" Nnoitra looked up and leaned into the mic again, his guitar play speed increasing.

"_Wish your death could be undone__," Grimmjow looked sodden as he sang the last part verse until Nnoitra joined in for the next virtualistic line.

"_Lost,"_

"_In,"_

"_The,"_

"_Mem'ry,"_

"_Of,"_

"_Yesterday,"_ Nnoitra and Grimmjow had taken turns on who said what word, Nnoitra starting, and then they joined in together on 'yesterday'. Nnoitra twirled around and strung his guitar crazily.

"_What a twisted fate we have:/Forced to play a major part in these 'wars',"_ Grimmjow yell/sang into the microphone as the crowd went wild before him; teenage girls passing out right and left while guys air-guitared and 'cheered' beers. "_Our Forbidden Love intact,/We were 'written in the stars'." _Nnoitra played a long note on his guitar and they were silent until its echo ceased, then he joined Grimmjow by the microphone to harmonize the whispered add-in verse.

"_You might be gone, but your over-flowing love/Will never leave my empty heart alone_!"_ They did a crescendo on 'alone' and Nnoitra began to crescendo his guitar in as well then jumped back to switch to his violin, Szayelapporos slamming away on his pink, sparkly drum set.

"_A Shakespearian-like ending/Already in the after life./No soul for a rebirthing/The answer's very clear now:"_ Nnoitra quickly switched out to his guitar and joined Grimmjow at the microphone for the last line, both looking solemnly down at the crowd and grasping onto the mic for dear life.

"_We'll never see each other again…"_ The crowd cheered enthusiastically and Nnoitra and Grimmjow high-fived, though no one seemed to notice just how depressing that was for Grimmjow. He really _did_ wish that Ulquiorra could've been in the crowd, front row of course. _Fucking Kurosaki…_

The rest of the night went splendidly as it drew closer and closer to their finale. They would be performing a song from an English band, as was their tradition for every one of their concerts, called _Skillet_. The audience always adored the kick-ass effects they pulled off for their finales. This concert's theme was _dark_, so there would be a lot of smoke/fog for their finale and would be held in a creepy forest setting.

A hidden fog machine, with plastic bushel on top of it to help camouflage it into the forest setting, automatically switched on and smog began to billow out of it, covering the whole right side of the stage while the left fog machine switched on as well. A few stage lights cast one beam onto the otherwise spooky setting. Cricket noises and other critters of the night could be heard, unseen to the audience. A loud clap of thunder roared on the stage and some screams could be heard amongst the audience. The small cast of light died out, resulting in an eerie darkness on the murky stage set. Small specks of stars twinkled on a back screening to add a better visual and small patters of rain droplets could be heard, but the band members were still missing from the set scene.

"_THIS IS AWESOME,"_ responded a random male voice from the crowd.

A latch way down stage opened up suddenly, causing the fog around it to poor into the opening. The audience gasped, hardly able to contain their excitement. A cloaked figure standing behind a sparkly pink electric piano set slowly rose from underneath the latch until the floor tile lined up with the opening edges. A slender, peach-pale arm outstretched from underneath the cloak with long black fingernails and a lone austere Australian gem ring adorning the index finger. The hand began playing the slow, depressed piano intro as another latch up stage opened up to reveal yet another cloaked figure. Right after the tile latched up with the stage edge, the figure took two steps forward and wrapped its long, tan fingers around the black microphone resting on the moss-covered stand. It had black nails as well, but they were short and he wore many silver rings of different designs; mainly crosses. He leaned into the microphone and parted his lips, head bowed; only half of its face was visible behind the dark hood. The rain effect had also ceased by now along with the creature sounds.

"_Despite the lies that you're making/Your love is mine for the taking."_ His voice was deep and whisper-like, attempting to sound like a faint spirit that came back to haunt his deceased lover. "_My love is._" He tilted his head to his left creepily while the third and final latch opened up to reveal a third hooded figure holding a sparkly black guitar on stage right. "_Just waiting/To turn your tears to roses."_ They all flung off their cloaks right after 'roses'; Grimmjow in a more showy fashion since Nnoitra had to go immediately into his epic guitar intro and Szayelapporos still handling the piano part. The strobe lights flashed at a high speed and the lights thunder-clapped. Grimmjow snatched on to the microphone pole and breathed into it like some crazy scream-o singer. All of them were clad in all-black clothing with leather pants, skin-tight long sleeve top, spike belts and various other spike jewelry, heavy black eyeliner to add to the effect, spike themed platform leather boots, and only Grimmjow had a spiked leather jacket as he was the leader. He leaned in close to the microphone again and got a good grip on it, tapping his left foot along to the beat. The strobe lights slowing to an every ten seconds pace and Nnoitra stopped playing the guitar like it would explode any minute now as well as flipping his long hair everywhere.

"_Despite the lies that you're making/Your love is mine for the taking./My Love is,/Just waiting,/To turn your tears to roses." _He took the mic from its stand an walked to the edge of the stage, holding out his hand to the crowd below him and skidding along the edge, collecting high-fives. "_I will be the one that's gonna hold you."_ He stopped in front of a girl with long, auburn hair and pointed to her. "_I will be the one that you run to/My love is/A burning," _He bent before a new girl and reached out to her, "_consuming fire_." He winked and ran backwards to the stage again while Nnoitra played the introduction to chorus notes, replacing the mic back to its rightful spot.

"_No!_" He stomped his foot and shouted into the mic while the crowd grew anxious, throwing screams and shouts everywhere. A guy covered in tattoos was currently fanning the red-haired chick he last approached; she had fainted. "_You'll never be alone!_" He threw his head to the side, but just as quickly looked straight-ahead again with a determined look in his blue eyes. "_When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars,"_ he slowly pointed up to the fake stars twinkling above them while tapping his boot to the beat. The crowd jumped up and down, filled with kinetic energy. "_Here the whispers in the dark—No!" _He cut himself off ad screamed again, getting into it while he pointed forward and could hardly contain himself from wanting to bob his head up and down along with the crowd. "_When darkness comes you know I'm never far/Hear the whispers in the dark!"_ The strobe lights started up again in a wild motion and Nnoitra began the crazy guitar intro again, Grimmjow throwing out his right arm—along with the stand—to his right and thrusting his head to the left, mouth agape. He pulled the mic back up to face him again and breathed "_whispers in the dark_" into the mic again right on cue. The jocular crowd cheered wildly [as usual] as Nnoitra quieted the guitar again for Grimmjow to sing the second verse.

"_You feel so lonely and ragged/You lay here broken and naked/My love is." _He paused dramatically, thrusting his head to the left and back. "_Just waiting—" _He thrust to his right. "—_To clothe you in crimson roses,"_ he breathed haughtily into the mic, then snatched it up, running to the edge of the stage again. "_I'll be the one that's gonna find you/I'll be the one that's gonna guide you,"_ he lifted a random blonde's chin, grinning at her sadistically. "_My love is/A burning, consuming fire."_ He let go and jumped back again for the chorus, giving the girl a small wink and internally laughing when she passed out in her pissed-off boyfriend's arms. Nnoitra's last notes rang and Grimmjow did a back flip to his spot and the crowd went wild. "_No!"_ He screamed into the mic, "_you'll never be alone!/When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars," _his arm shot up into the air to point at the 'stars' again; head facing downwards with the mic underneath and foot tapping out the beat again. "_Hear the whispers in the dark—No! You'll never be alone!/When darkness comes you know I'm never far/Hear the whispers in the dark!"_ He thrust his head to the left then back again, bobbing his head along to Nnoitra's guitar solo and Szayelapporos joined him in the background as well, returning to his guitar again when Nnoitra played the chorus beat. Grimmjow rested his head against the microphone and tapped his foot to time himself for his next move. He suddenly lifted his head again when Nnoitra began the intro guitar notes and backed up to stand atop a fake grass hill behind him near the center of the stage. He flipped off of it and landed before the mic stand, snatching the mic roughly from its hold and screaming "_**NO!**__"_ into it, flipping his head back and pointing to the crowd. The camera taping the concert zoomed out immediately after the 'no' to add extreme emphasis, then zoomed back in again on Grimmjow's scowling, serious expression for the next line. "_You'll never be alone!/When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars," _He pointed upwards again, but looked upwards this time, bringing the mic up to his face as well. "_Hear the whispers in the dark—NO!"_ He looked back down again and grinned ferally to the crowd. "_You'll never be alone!"_ He skipped back and hopped forward again for more effect. "_When darkness comes you know I'm never far!/Hear the whispers in the dark!" _He set the mic back on the stand again and put his face up close to it. "_Whispers in the dark…! Whispers in the dark…! Whispers in the dar_k," _he breathed out with a sigh and a visible, solemn expression. He backed up and threw his arms before him as if some odd force was dragging him back against his will while Nnoitra played the ending notes, Nnoitra himself and Szayelapporos joining him as well to meet up in the middle atop the grass hill. The strobe lights were going haywire by now. The thunder effects also started again, along with the rain pitter-patters. The strobe lights flashed twice to accompany Nnoitra's last two notes while the trio continued to be lowered beneath the stage, then the stage blacked out when Nnoitra finished. The crowd went wild with cheers and screams of satisfaction, fog still continuing to pour off of the stage even after the stage attachment closed shut after their dramatic exit.

**10**

"_THAT FUCKING ROCKED!" _Happened to resound from Ulquiorra's frivolous TV set and Yammy grunted, throwing his half-eaten chicken at the screen, turning off the TV entirely.

"Rocked my chickeny-ass; I missed the _whole_ thing, damn it!" He bellowed out his complaint then lay down, pulling the comforter over him on the leather-black couch he laid on, hoping that maybe there would be a replay the next day so he could figure out just what the hell that was.

All he had seen was darkness and a bunch of crazy humans, after all. ■

**Author's E/N:** The last song is best enjoyed when actually listening to "Whisper in the Dark" by Skillet. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed reading this and would really appreciate it if you review! Even the shortest, lamest review is read because each and every review 'makes my day'! The next chapter will come up soon!~ (Maybe I'll start holding review questionnaires out of boredom possibly, but don't count on it!)


	3. II: An Unexpected Discovery

**Disclaimer: **I do not, in any way, shape, and/or form, own _Bleach_. Otherwise this wouldn't be a _fan-_fiction. However, the random human fans/audiences are mine [basically character additions to highlight the story]. I also do not own any of the songs in this chapter, by the way (my creativity has strung out on songs for now).

**Author's Note:** Wow, on to chapter two _already?!_ Dang! xD Though it's not really _that_ much of an accomplishment for me, but I'm determined to finish this whole story before I get back to my other neglected fictions. I already have the whole thing played out in my head, so don't worry! I plan to write three more chapters and one extra chapter (purely because I want to make it 'six' chapters but can't really stretch it anymore lol). And it might be only five chapters, but at least the chapters are _loooooong!_

**Key**

Word—text and/or express on word in the middle of thoughts

_Word_—thoughts and/or express on word

**Word**—extreme emphasis on shouting and/or word of "meaning"

WORD—change of scene and/or character shouting

[Number]—change of POV according to Espada rank

**A Change in Atmospheres**

**II**

_**An Unexpected Discovery**_

A DARK HARMONY BETWEEN VIOLIN AND CELLO PERMEATED THE COOL AURA IN THE BLACK AND GREEN VELVET THEMED ROOM, waking Ulquiorra from his restless sleep. He propped himself up on his elbows and cracked open his tired eyes, the green-silk comforter sliding down his chest.

_I hate feeling like this_

_I'm so tired of trying to fight this_

He rubbed his eyes and immediately ran a pale hand through his tangled ebony locks. He turned to face his radio and drew his eyebrows together, confused. Had he forgotten to dismiss his alarm last night?

_I'm asleep and all I dream of_

_Is waking to you [!]_

_Sounds like my life._ Ulquiorra down-cast his emerald eyes, his mind wandering back to what last night's dream had been. (Yet another)dream of living with Grimmjow and going to bed only to wake up the next day, expecting him to be lying next to him, and he's gone. Then he fell backwards to lie down again. His arms outstretched on either side as he gazed aimlessly at the green gothic number four painted above the bed on the black ceiling.

_Tell me that you will listen_

_Your touch is what I'm missing_

_And the more I hide I realize I'm slowly losing you (!)_

Ulquiorra shut his eyes and turned to lay on his right side, trying his best to hold back the waterworks (as he came to label the emotion as). The song was quickly dragging him down into a depression.

_Comatose_

_I'll never wake up without an overdose of you (…!)_

He brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them, curling up into a ball with the quilt just barely covering him. _Well, better get the breakdown done and over with since there's no stopping it now._

_I don't wanna live_

_I don't wanna breathe_

'_Less I feel you next to me_

_You take the pain I feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

_The pain._ Oh yes, the emotional pain he had come to know so well since his resurrection. The salt water leaked from his closed eyelids and he squeezed his eyes shut, not liking the feel of the water on his face.

_I don't wanna sleep_

_I don't wanna dream_

'_Cause my dreams don't comfort me_

_The way you make me feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

Almost every night he dreamt of waking to Grimmjow only to find that he was alone. Then he would rise from the bed and search the whole castle frantically until he realized that Grimmjow really _was_ gone.

_I hate living without you_

_Dead wrong to ever doubt you_

_But my demons lay in waiting_

_Tempting me away_

That was exactly what had happened to Grimmjow, wasn't it? His pride was his demon, tempting him to kidnap the girl and resurrect Ichigo just so that he could _fight_ him. "_Grimmjow…"_ he mumbled aloud, bottom lip quivering, and hugged his knees tighter against his chest while the tears endlessly streamed down his face, tracing over where his green tear-tracks used to be.

_Oh how I adore you_

_Oh how I thirst for you_

_Oh how I need you_

_Comatose_

_I'll never wake up without an overdose of you (…!)_

He reached out with one of his hands, desperate to touch Grimmjow again, but he didn't appear, so he forced his hand back and covered his face. He wiped at his face with both hands in a pathetic attempt to cease the water from flowing, but it only came down faster and he bit his lip in protest.

_I don't wanna live_

_I don't wanna breathe_

'_Les I feel you next to me_

_You take the pain I feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

He leaned forward more and clutched at his chest, crying out. Oh, why did it have to hurt so? He knew now how the human heart affected a person, after his death's realization, and how it hurt him so to long for his special someone. He cracked open his eyes, his vision blurred from all of the tears and he covered his mouth to squelch his sobs, suddenly aware that Yammy currently stayed with him. He would have to talk to Kisuke about him later.

_I don't wanna sleep_

_I don't wanna dream_

'_Cause my dreams don't comfort me_

_The way you make me feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

Oh, screw Yammy—he couldn't care less if the lout heard him! He rolled onto his back and threw his arms on either side of him, crying out painful sobs. "Grimmjow…?" He choked and turned his head to his left, sniffling. "_GRIMMJOW…!"_ He whimpered at first, and then shouted his name aloud again. He also reached his arms out to smack against the empty bedside, and sobbed away; his tears blinding him.

_Breathing life_

_Waking up_

_My eyes open up_

He began to crawl pathetically over to where Grimmjow _should've_ been and blinked constantly, trying to clear his clouded vision; his body visibly shaking slightly.

_Comatose_

_I'll never wake up without an overdose of you (…!)_

"_Grimmjow…?"_ He was on his knees on the empty spot now, running his hand down the blue pillow in front of him. He had bought the pillow simply because he thought it would help to ease his sorrow. It only made it worse now.

_I don't wanna live_

_I don't wanna breathe_

'_Les I feel you next to me_

_You take the pain I feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

"_GRIMMJOW!"_ He screamed at the top of his lungs and pounded his fists down hard on the pillow, completely lost in his hysterical breakdown.

_I don't wanna sleep_

_I don't wanna dream_

'_Cause my dreams don't comfort me_

_The way you make me feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

He wailed and curled into himself, forming into another ball, then fell onto his left side and began rocking back and forth, still in a ball, repeating "Grimmjow" over and over again like a mantra.

_Oh how I adore you_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

_Oh how I thirst for you_

_Waking up to you never felt so real_

_Oh how I adore you, ohhhh_

_The way you make me feel_

_Waking up to you never felt so real _

Ulquiorra screwed his eyes shut and continued to cry—although not as hysterically as before—until he eventually fell asleep again, dreaming of Grimmjow's rare, genuine smile.

"_Hey, Ulqui, what do you want to do today?"_ He envisioned Grimmjow lying next to him, smiling; Ulquiorra smiled in his slumber.

**10**

YAMMY WAS STARTLED AWAKE BY LOUD CRIES AND SHOUTS, coming from above. "What the hell is that noise?" He yawned and sat up, stretching out his arms to release the tension in his muscles. He let his arms drop onto his lap and smacked his bulbous lips together, blinking a few times.

"GRIMMJOW!" Yammy's face contorted into that of confusion upon hearing the shout and he stuck his fingers into his ears.

"Man, what the _hell_—I gotta see what's going on up there…!" He cursed and flung his blanket off of his legs, throwing them over the edge of the couch he slept on and pushing his large body up to stand. He walked around the coffee table, rubbing a fist over his right eye since it was still tired. He sighed and ascended the marble staircase hidden in the left first tower. _Why the fuck did he have to buy a castle, of all human homes…_As he drew closer to the shouts, he could hear some odd beat coming from upstairs, too. _What is that…?!_ He grunted and stopped on a stair, only half way there and already he was taking a break. He bent over on his knee for a few moments then shrugged it off, continuing his journey to the top. It hadn't been long until he discovered that the sound was coming from the _top_ floor and not the second. He _finally_ reached the top after many breaks and grunts of dissatisfaction. He stopped at the top and leaned against the wall, taking what he hoped would be his last break. He drew the back of his right hand across his sweaty forehead and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thankfully that's over with…now, back to that annoying noise…" He waddled over to the door where the sound seemed to be leaking out from and stopped before it. By the time he had gotten up there, the song had just ended and all that he heard were little sobs and hiccups. Yammy just stood behind the door, his hands down by each side of him and his head facing the wooded floor. _He sounds…depressed._ Yammy didn't really know what to think because he didn't understand love or break-ups, never being in a relationship before himself. _Why the hell is Ulquiorra crying over Grimmjow…? I thought he said he'd never waste his time around such 'trash'._ He scratched his black ponytail, suddenly feeling itchy and turned around. He didn't want to just stand behind the door anymore because it was starting to make him feel depressed too. He actually felt bad for Ulquiorra. The guy never seemed to show emotion before and claimed he didn't know anything of it. How much _did_ he change in the one human year they were apart? Obviously, _a lot_. He waddled back over to the marble staircase and descended it, shoulders slumped the whole time. _I hope he feels better soon, because I want some chicken…!_

**/**

NATASHA STOOD BEFORE THE ELECTRONICS STORE NEXT TO HER BEST FRIEND DEBBY, watching _Espada Reborn_'s first all-dance concert. "Oh my gosh, Debby, I can't believe they are dancing to _Replay _by IYAZ—I love that song!" She squealed and grasped Debby's hands, jumping up and down with her again.

"I _know!_ Best English song, _ever_!" Debby squealed alongside her, over excited.

"They're just the best!" they both screamed together, a few people looking at them like they were freaks. Well, Natasha did have _pink_ hair, after all, but so did Szayelapporos from the band on the television. The only difference was that his was natural while her hair was dyed. A girl with a huge bust and long, orange hair came up behind them. She was walking next to a guy with similar orange hair—except his was chopped—and a guy with vibrant red hair pulled up into a spiky ponytail. The orange-haired guy turned his head to his left and cocked a fine orange brow at the two giggling girls.

"Fan girls…?" the red-head questioned him. He nodded his head.

"Well, I suppose it depends on what they're showing on the televisions today…" The orange-haired guy's brown eyes considerably widened and his jaw dropped. The red-haired guy noticed his sudden change of attitude and looked to the screen, curious.

"What's so shocking? It's just some boy ban—oh my _God!_ Is that Szayelapporos Grantz…?! I thought I killed him!" The red-haired guy, _Renji_, jumped back in shock as well. The orange-haired girl behind him peered around his shoulder and gasped, backing up again and covering her mouth. She had completely forgotten that she healed those guys. Well, it had been a whole year since, so it was understandable for such an airhead like her to misplace such information, no matter how vital. She looked back and forth between her two friends, who were still too shocked to speak. She looked at the ground and played with her feet, hoping that they wouldn't notice her nervous attitude. Luckily for her, they knew she was meek, so they figured it was normal behavior.

"Grimmjow…?" the orange-haired boy, _Ichigo_, finally voiced, making Renji smack him upside the head. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Ichigo turned around and questioned Renji. Renji simply shrugged and shook his head.

"I don't know, man, but that's seriously messed up…" He drew his red brows together at the dancing trio. "Especially what they're _doing_—good Lord!" He threw his arms up, and ended up hitting Natasha and Debby, who just grumbled and walked away from the annoying trio. They already knew to steer away from _those_ three. Renji turned his head around and widened his eyes at them, whispering "sorry" under his breath. "Should we go rid of them again….?" Renji asked. Ichigo just frowned and rubbed his chin.

"I don't know…it doesn't look like they mean any _harm_ or anything, though, so maybe we should just let it go…?" Ichigo shrugged back at Renji and they stood there in silence for three seconds before laughing it off heartily.

"Eh, let's not even bother…" Renji smacked his back and continued to crack up.

"That's what I just _said_, lightning brows…" Ichigo whacked him back and strode off with him, their arms around each other's shoulders. Orhime looked up shyly and followed behind them in silence, glad that they chose to 'forget about it'. _Woo, looks like I'm safe…for now at least._

**4**

ULQUIORRA SAT ON HIS BLACK LEATHER COUCH NEXT TO YAMMY, watching the brute flip though the channels on the television set. He had just recently visited Kisuke to order a Yammy gigai, ready to explain what the lout looked like when it seemed that he had already known before hand. It worked out just fine for him and now Yammy had a gigai so he could go out and get his own chicken from now on. Considering Ulquiorra had a bad experience buying fried chicken for him earlier, he was glad he'd never have to do that again. Now Yammy just sat there, nomming away on his chicken merrily and clicking the channel button a gazillion times since they couldn't seem to agree on a channel befitting for both of their tastes.

"What human came up with this invention, anyways? I've always wanted to know when Aizen seemed to always know what we did in our rooms and such; cameras creep me out." Yammy ripped a particularly large chunk from his chicken leg and swallowed it whole.

"How many times must I tell you, Yammy, that this is a TV and not a camera, it cannot see you. You can only see what airs on it." Ulquiorra slowly chewed his spearmint gum and sighed when Yammy stopped on yet another cooking channel. "I am tired of watching how to prepare meals when I have no need nor desire to make any, Yammy. _Change it_." Ulquiorra leaned back into the cushion and crossed his arms across his chest. He was wearing his favorite outfit that day: a black cashmere turtle-neck sweater, light washed bell-bottom jeans, and stiletto heels. He knew that the shoes were meant for females, but he liked the look of them so he wore them anyways, not caring if the other males whispered about him being 'gay'. They were only _humans_, after all. At first he didn't know just what they meant by that, but eventually had his assistant clarify the term for him and wasn't even affected when she flushed and even had the gall to ask him if he was just that.

Yammy grunted, waking Ulquiorra from his thoughts. Ulquiorra focused back on the TV and listened to Yammy's many moods as he continued to flip though the channels. He saw the channels change from cooking shows to reality TV shows and heard Yammy's _plentiful_ complaints. One talk show in particular, however, actually caught Ulquiorra's attention because a guy with stunning, electric blue hair was being interviewed along with a pink-haired guy and a long, jet-black haired guy. _Grimmjow…?_ Of course, Yammy grumbled something along the lines of "Ulquiorra hates talk shows" and changed it. Ulquiorra blinked as Yammy continued his flurry of changing the channels when Ulquiorra spoke out: "Stop."

"Huh?" Yammy turned his head to glance at Ulquiorra for a brief moment before facing the TV again. "I though you hated sappy romance movie channels."

"I do hate them, but I want you to go back to that one talk show before." He intertwined his ivory fingers with one another.

Yammy scratched at his black pony-tail. "Uh, do you know how many talk shows I passed up? A huge load!" he snorted.

Ulquiorra internally rolled his eyes at Yammy's memory failure. "Tetsuki Kuroyanagi, smart one. Or to be more specific for your ingeniousness, the lady with tight black curls and short bangs," he elaborated to the idiot.

"Oh." Yammy nodded curtly and changed the channels again, but this time at a slower pace and looking more closely at what appeared on screen. He stopped on the talk show he landed on and Ulquiorra stood up upon seeing the blue hair again. "I'm guessing this is it, then…?" Ulquiorra ignored him and walked toward the TV, bending on his knee when he got close enough. "Just why are you so interested in this particular talk show, anyhow? Is the woman _that_ good?"

"It has nothing to do with the woman, Yammy. Take a closer look at who is being _featured_, imbecile." Ulquiorra hissed and ran a shaky hand down the clear screen, creating smear marks along the perfect surface. "_Grimmjow…_" he whispered softly, completely in his own world now. He didn't bother to question just _why_ Grimmjow was alive and exactly how he got on a human TV show, but simply enjoyed the moment as Yammy snorted away behind him, confused as ever. Ulquiorra planted a chaste kiss on the screen where Grimmjow's lips were, then got up, exiting the room to enter the kitchen in distress.

**10**

THE BIG GUY JUST DIDN'T GET IT: _why_ was Ulquiorra so taken aback by this simple show? And when the Quarta just up and left the room? Beats him why he acted the way he did. The lard just understood him less and less with each human interval that passed by. He ran his dry, large tan hands over his face and groaned, trying to clear his small brain of its complicated ponderings. The pea-sized brain could only hold so much, after all. He squinted his eyes at the talk show, trying to see what Ulquiorra saw when something clicked; there were three guys being interviewed that looked just like Nnoitra, Szayelapporos, and Grimmjow! Now how could _that_ be? Yammy ran a hand over his face and slouched deeper into the couch, lifting a new chicken leg and tearing a huge chunk from the bone as he contemplated over why those three would be there. They had died…hadn't they? Then again, he thought Ulquiorra had died, too, but there he was now, throwing plates around in his kitchen. Wait, back up there—throwing _plates_ around?! Yammy furrowed his orange bush brows together and leaned off of the couch a little in a pointless manner to peer inside the kitchen. It was obviously no use if he couldn't even see the hallway, but at least he tried. He leaned back again and focused back on the talk show, suddenly interested and also wanting to avoid whatever tantrum Ulquiorra was throwing now. He just preferred _not_ to know.

**6**

NOT A SOUND COULD BE HEARD BEYOND THE BACKSTAGE WHERE GRIMMJOW AND HIS "TEAMMATES" STOOD. "Are they waiting for us to come out or something?" Nnoitra nudged Grimmjow.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's just Tetsuki giving her famous 'shut-the-fuck-up' smile and yeah, it's safe to say that she wants us to enter now." Grimmjow played with his key chain, mirthless. He stepped aside from Nnoitra and glared at him, just daring the pervert to touch him again. The creeper simply smirked and strode on ahead of Grimmjow, into the seeping stage light. Grimmjow marched after him and motioned for Szayelapporos to do likewise. He closed his eyes and prepared for the crazed cheers that followed after he came into view of the audience that came to watch the show. The crowd was more enthusiastic for Grimmjow's entrance than Nnoitra's, he realized. Grimmjow waved to them and beamed like an idiot, sending a loud "_Hello!_" to the excited humans. When he reached the red, cushioned chair across from Tetsuki—tilted to face the audience—he leaned forward with his legs spread apart and his hands neatly folded in front of him, each arm resting on the other leg. He looked serene then, like an artist could have sketched a portrait of him (that no one would fully understand). He was _that_ calm. Tetsuki seemed a little intimidated by his sudden change of mood and crossed her left leg over her right, trying to cover her reaction with her cherubic expression (as per usual). Grimmjow looked to her only and disregarded the two idiots seated in the other two seats behind/next to Tetsuki and him.

"So—as you can see—our guests for today are the members of a new, and quite popular already, band named _Espadas Reborn_." Tetsuki outstretched her right arm before her as if to introduce the image of the day's guests. Nonetheless, the crowd went berserk with cheers, including the occasional shouting of "I love you [insert band member]" among them. She turned her head to face Grimmjow and her eyes suddenly sparkled, alit with desire for scandalous information. "Now do tell us, Mr. Jaegerjaques, why no one has ever heard or seen you with any females as of late?" She leaned back into her chair and crossed her tooth-pick arms daintily across her bosom. "Are you hiding her from the public eye or are you…_homosexual_?" she half-whispered the last word as if it were too dangerous, to say. Grimmjow internally rolled his eyes at her first random-ass question, but only grinned unrelentingly.

"That's pretty daring of you to ask, Ma'am, _especially_ for a start to today's episode." He glanced over at the anxious crowd then back to Tetsuki. "I guess I'll just have to answer that in _song_." He abruptly stood up and motioned for Szayelapporos with Nnoitra to join him at the instrument side of the stage. He walked onward toward the area. He looked behind him back to the sweating hostess and smirked. "Besides, guest-bands normally start out in song when featured on a talk show, _right_?" He chuckled lowly and skid in front of the microphone. He turned his head around to Nnoitra and Szayelapporos and whispered. "_Start playing the introduction for "Ridin' Solo" by Jason DeRulo, okay?_" He faced forward again and parted his lips, preparing for the beginning "mmm's" and "yeah's". Nnoitra and Szayelapporos were at first confused and did not start until they heard Grimmjow hum.

It was like a jump start to them, at least that was what Grimmjow thought it as when he turned around to eye them suspiciously until they raced into the song. He turned back around and grabbed a hold of the microphone and stand, swinging them side to side as he sung the chorus, beaming like an idiot. "_I'm feelin' like a star, you can't stop my shine/I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky/I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo/I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo."_ He threw on some shades and cocked his head upwards with arrogance, causing half of the crowd to swoon. "_Yeah, I'm feeling good tonight, finally/doing me and it feels so alright, oh._"

Grimmjow acted cool throughout the song and simply jumped back from the microphone as the crowd applauded. Nnoitra just grinned lecherously behind him and Szayelapporos slapped at his forehead, "face-palming". Grimmjow chuckled lightly, his cerulean blue eyes twinkling behind his sunglasses, threatening to tear up. He shook his head and ran a hand through his thick, icy blue hair while making his way back to the plush seat.

"Well, what a surprise that was!" Tetsuki declared as if she wasn't expecting the short display, which wasn't entirely untrue. "Wasn't that nice?" she addressed the camera—and crowd—and the camera-man turned it to view the psyched audience. Grimmjow promptly took his seat, looking down at his nails while the other two took theirs. Tetsuki turned back to face him, then. "Answer me, Jaegerjaques-san: that song speaks in a tone of 'I'm finally free' as if you had a lover before but she left you. My point is who was your lover _before_ you became single once again? Please do inform us on this juicy information." She crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap, fluttering her lashes and puckering her lips, ready for such gossip. The audience actually followed suit. Well, at least the _females_ had…and a few males, as well. Grimmjow looked down-cast, then forced himself to look up at her to respond with strength.

"Look, I'd rather not get into such dark matters right now. I am sorry; I hope you can understand." The crowd looked a little crushed from Grimmjow's words. Nnoitra gave him an unexplainable look.

"What the hell are ya talkin' about, man? 'Dark matters' my ass! Just tell them ya never dated before and be done with it!" Nnoitra leaned back in his seat and threw up his arms. Grimmjow suddenly shifted in his seat to glare at Nnoitra when he recalled that they had no clue.

"Oh yeah," he relaxed a little. "I almost forgot that you were too stupid to realize that I was secretly dating someone~" Grimmjow laughed heartily, but it quickly subsided and he looked disdainfully to his feet. "But it doesn't matter anymore, because that person is gone." _Just like the wind,_ he wanted to add, but refrained from doing so. Tetsuki knitted her fine, black brows together and Nnoitra tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't—" Nnoitra started, but was cut off by Tetsuki.

"Okay then, how about we get back to you after a little and ask Jiruga-san and Grantz-san the same question now, shall we?" She smirked deviously as she craned her neck to address them.

"Well–" Szayelapporos began.

"Don't even, Szayel, _I'll_ do the talking~" Nnoitra cut him off and snickered. He eyed Grimmjow suspiciously still, but quickly leaned forward to address Tetsuki. "Now we weren't exactly sure of how to bring this up to Japan so we've been keeping this a secret for six months now–"

"Six months of _what_?!" Tetsuki gasped. Nnoitra just blinked rapidly in annoyance. "I'm sorry," she coughed. "Do continue."

"As I was about to say, we've decided–" Nnoitra continued.

"More like you di–" Szayelapporos cut him off.

"Shut up!" Nnoitra hissed at Szayelapporos. "To finally be forward about it." He attempted to smile warmly and Szayelapporos smacked his forehead as a result, slapping his hand against his forehead. Tetsuki scratched at her stiff curls, trying to comprehend.

"Are you saying that you and Grantz-san are, or were and still...?!" Nnoitra simply nodded, and the audience was shocked to silence at the revelation.

"Oh, come on!" Grimmjow shouted at them. "You mean to tell me you guys never took note of their reactions to each other before?! It's kind of obvious..." Grimmjow grew bored with their shocked reactions and rested his cheek on his right palm. "_Dumbasses..._" he muttered under his breath as Tetsuki re-gathered herself and Szayelapporos attempted to disguise his embarrassment with a casual expression.

"Why don't you inform us on who your secret lover was then, Jaegerjaques-san, as we pip down from the sudden discovery?"

"And before I do that," Grimmjow countered. "I'll inform you on the fact that Nnoitra was all-for tits-galore until he realized his feelings for Szayel. So just to be clear, he's only gay for him." He scrunched up his face. "Though I can't say the same for Szayel, though. That guy always struck me as a homo." The crowd gave slow nods to one another, and Szayelapporos looked on with disgust, wanting to strangle Grimmjow. Tetsuki coughed, and Grimmjow arched a brow at her, removing his shades. He had forgotten about those. "You wouldn't even _know_ the person so it hardly matters anyways whether I tell you or not, Tetsuki-chan." Tetsuki rolled her eyes in response.

"Oh, just tell us already! We're all dying to know if the person's even _female_ or not now!" She slapped her thigh, and Grimmjow snickered.

"Look, before you say anything, this was kind of the same thing for me as it was for Nnoitra so I won't ever date a guy other than him." He looked to the crowd, a little worried.

"Oh for God's sake, Grimmjow, who the fuck was it?!" Nnoitra screamed.

"Yeah–we're truly dying over here now since we _will_ know him!" Szayelapporos joined in.

"Shut the fuck up! It's fucking hard for me to say after keeping it all bottled up inside for so long! So quit being impatient douche bags, alright?!" Silence resulted and Grimmjow gulped, running a hand through his icy blue tufts of hair. "His name was Ulquiorra Schiffer, and he was my soul mate until his untimely death." Not a sound was heard in the room, not even a smart remark from either Nnoitra or Szayelapporos–which he expected to hear. Grimmjow pursed his lips and his left leg, nervous. He wasn't one to take to long periods of silence well. Suddenly, a small woman's hand raised up high into the air from the second row. Tetsuki lifted her bowed head and addressed her accordingly.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but we normally save questions until the end."

"No," Grimmjow responded abruptly. "Let her speak; I'm curious." He leaned back into the seat and folded his hands, leg still shaking. The girl gulped nervously.

"Um, I don't know if it's the same person–being that he's supposed to be dead and all–but being that it's such a unique name I thought you'd like to know that one of the head engineers at my workplace is named Ulquiorra Schiffer." She squeaked near the end of her response. Grimmjow leaned forward and squinted at her, a little jumpy now and on-edge.

"Oh really? Then what does he look like? hair color, eye color, height, weight–_well_?! Tell me!" A stray sweat-bead ran down the side of his face. His heart rate picked up dramatically. Was his precious Ulqui alive? If so, he _had_ to find him at all costs!

"Slow down there, Jaegerjaques-san, you don't want to scare her, do you?" Tetsuki snickered; Grimmjow glared the bitch down.

"I-it's okay, I mean, I would react that way if I were in his position, too." The girl blinked rapidly and wrung her hands. "Well he's very handsome and all the female co-workers hit on him all of the time–even the married ones!" Grimmjow looked unamused as well as a little envious. The girl blushed. "B-but he doesn't seem to notice of course, being the rather boring guy he is. I mean, not to be rude, but he's kind of gothic with his messy raven tousles and ultra-pale skin. The only thing that stands out are his large, vibrant green eyes–they're like emeralds~!" She blushed just thinking about him and missed Grimmjow's 'jaw-drop'.

"That's definitely him, no doubt about it; do you know where he lives?!"

"Grimmjow." Nnoitra said.

"Keep quiet, Nnoitra!" He thrust out his left hand and clamped it shut at Nnoitra.

"U-um, well my friend heard that it was that really creepy abandoned castle near Harajuku Tokyo once, but that's just a ru–" Grimmjow stood up with a determined look on his face.

"I'm going there right _now_." He began to walk off-set and Nnoitra tried to stop along with an appalled Szayelapporos. The crowd burst into all kinds of whispers and Tetsuki tried her best to have order. She made a cut-throat gesture to her cameraman to stop filming. But she ended up rolling her eyes when he didn't comply.

please stay with us for we'll be back shortly after the commercial break." She smiled her best smile, acting as if the turmoil behind her was non-existent.

**Author's E/N:** ._. Yet another late update...*sigh*


	4. III: Rejection

**Disclaimer: **I do not, in any way, shape, and/or form, own _Bleach_. Otherwise this wouldn't be a _fan-_fiction. However, the random human fans/audiences are mine [basically character additions to highlight the story]. I also do not own any of the songs in this chapter, by the way (my creativity has strung out on songs for now).

**Author's Note:** …I know, I know it's been a little while now, but not nearly as long as last time! And I'm dealing with even more crap right now it's just a mIrAcLe that I am even able to pull this off! Bare with me here, readers! :o) hOnK~

**Key**

Word—text and/or express on word in the middle of thoughts

_Word_—thoughts and/or express on word

**Word**—extreme emphasis on shouting and/or word of "meaning"

WORD—change of scene and/or character shouting

[Number]—change of POV according to Espada rank

**A Change in Atmospheres**

**III**

_**Rejection**_

A PAIR OF DULLED GREEN EYES CAST DOWN AT TWO PALE HANDS, which had cuts across them and were bleeding profusely. The owner of such beauties could honestly care less, however, for he only tried to find the meaning in why he felt no pain from the obvious wounds. He just…had no tears to spend on such trivial matters. Actually, he never did to begin with—even in his rough past. The side effect of never noting external pain: he received the worst pangs possible when it came to emotional swings. And lately, he had been having _a lot_ of those waves. He sighed and balled his hands into fists, spreading the crimson liquid onto his finger tips. He couldn't believe it—he just could not BELIEVE that Grimmjow was alive and walking the same ground as he. He had just been _alone_ for far _too_ long and had to remind himself everyday—since he settled onto Earth—that the Sexta was, in fact, dead. Hot tears formed around the rims of his eyes and he bit his bottom, quivering lip in an attempt to choke back loud sobs. The dreaded salt-water spilled over and ran down his cheeks endlessly as he scurried out of the kitchen like an apparition and disappeared down the hallway into the nearest bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and leaned against the back of it, examining his hands through blurred vision. His thoughts were all jumbled up and he felt bile rise up his throat. Just what the hell was wrong with him? It should be easy to pick himself back up—so why was it so hard now? He pushed off of the door and turned to dip his hands under the faucet after turning the knobs to release the cleansing water. He slowly wrung his hands underneath it and gradually picked up the pace aggressively, his tears creating a progressive stream down his soft cheeks. He disregarded the loud knock on the bathroom door completely; all he could really hear was an elongated buzz, from crying so often, pass through his ears, anyways.

"Ulquiorra, please open up," pleaded Yammy behind the wooden barrier, unbeknownst to Ulquiorra. "Your behavior is beginning to worry me." Ulquiorra took a shaky breath and sniffled. _Stupid gigai_. "We can talk about it if you want…'might help ya' a lil', even." A dreaded silence followed as if Ulquiorra had physically shushed Yammy—until a long sigh escaped Yammy's lips and his retreating 'stomps' resounded down the hall; he had given up. Ulquiorra backed into the wall behind him and, likewise, slid down onto his rear end, leaving the water running. He buried his torn face into his shaken hands and allowed the memories and inevitable emotions to wash over him for the second time that day, hoping that the crash back down to shore would not be as bad as his recent tantrum's results.

**10**

THE BIG BRUTE HOISTED HIMSELF UP OFF THE COUCH, a sudden feeling of foreboding forming in the stiff air around him. He knit his furry orange brows together, a bead of sweat appearing on his forehead. He swiped his massive hand across his forehead to remove the salty liquid and peered nervously at the entryway to the kitchen. The dishware-throwing had finally ceased and he had to pique his gigai's hearing to a sharp status in order to catch drift of the muffled whines and sniffles beyond the open entrance. However, Yammy nearly jumped out of his gigai when Ulquiorra suddenly exited the kitchen and whisked down the hallway to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Yammy sighed and attempted to walk in a light manner toward the bathroom, but in vain. His large feet and overall body mass just prevented him from doing so. He could hear the water pour from behind the door when he reached it. Without hesitation, Yammy began pounding on the door. He waited a few seconds for an answer, but when none was received, he spoke aloud without permission. "Ulquiorra, please open up," he pleaded and kind of regretted it; Ulquiorra might just think that he wanted chicken, after all. "Your behavior is beginning to worry me." Yammy lowered his gaze when he heard a small sniffle. The brute really hated it when Ulquiorra became emotional because the guy was _never_ emotional. "We can talk about it if you want…might help ya' a lil', even." He thought that if he offered to be some kind of psychiatrist that Ulquiorra would come out, but only a long silence stole his dream result from him. Well, he did not want this to carry out for any longer, so he decided it would be best if he just returned to the living room to chillax before the odd talk show, although alone. Besides—he didn't want his chicken to get cold.

**6**

IGNORANT TO THE SLAMMING BLACK DOORS BEHIND HIM, Grimmjow continued jiggling his keys and jogging over to his parked Harley. He was now grateful for the stingy mantis's insist on him taking his own vehicle instead of riding with the pervert. Nnoitra just wanted to be alone pinky was all, of course. Well it was about time that Grimmjow found a mate to fondle over, and he was more than overzealous about the fact that his one true love is still alive—if the knowledge is not proven false information, of course.

Grimmjow swung his right leg over his motorcycle and did not hesitate to back out the rad bike after he started it and put into reverse. He switched the gear to drive and revved the motherfucker to its full mileage until he reached the end of the lot. He had to wait for the road to clear—or at least an opening—in order to exit. A White Walsh full of screaming girls yielded for him and he returned the favor by waving to them. Sometimes fame had its perks; he just hoped that they didn't stalk him. Grimmjow sneered at the traffic in front of him and he revved his engine in annoyance, receiving a few glares from the drivers around him. He grimaced and drove around them. He had the tight advantage considering he was on a bike (even though it is illegal). He flicked them off with both hands and flew onward like an expert motorcyclist.

_Fuck them_. Grimmjow lacked the motivation the voice his comment, though.

He grabbed back on to his handles and hummed, turning in his radio and not caring to blare it, either. He increased his speed to the max and continued to drive in between the lanes like a psycho. Yes, he was _that_ impatient. He did mourn for a whole year, after all, and he wanted to fucking _see_ his sexy mate Ulquiorra, already!

In his peripheral vision, however, he caught a glimpse of Nnoitra's black jeep not far from him. Oh no that motherfucker better _not_ be following him! He'd cut the fucker down if he had to—he was _not_ getting between this! Grimmjow revved his engine again and begged it to go faster and faster until Nnoitra was nowhere to be seen. Grimmjow did not exactly understand just what Nnoitra was trying to get at; his hazy mind only comprehended that the creep was following him. It was kind of funny to Grimmjow, too, considering that not even he was entirely sure himself of his destination. He only had a cloudy perception of it based off a random documentary—he watched one day—on old castles in the Japan country on the humans' creation they call _television_. Grimmjow lowered his eyes and tightened his grip on the handles, screeching to a stop when a red light appeared. Fuck—he didn't have time for such bullshit! Grimmjow glared at the teenage girls crossing the street in front of him. Of course, they swooned when they finally recognized him. He smacked his forehead at their incessant giggles and ran that same hand down his face.

_Fuck my life._

**5**

SNATCHING UP A COFFEE CUP FROM TETSUKI'S FOOD/SNACK CART, Nnoitra Jiruga dumped the boiling contents onto his head and shook his now-wet mop of black hair around him. The burn helped him to calm down and clear his quickly-tempered mind for more rational thought-processing. He supposed it was a good thing that he had the brainy scientist Szayel on his side. He sighed and smacked his forehead, trying to muster up the best solution for the chaotic situation behind him and also around him on the set. He could tell that Tetsuki was losing her cool, as well as her crew members over trying to calm her from the obnoxious crowd. Nnoitra drew his black brows together when a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. He slowly inclined his head to view the owner. Szayelapporos was smiling softly at him. Nnoitra absolutely loved it when Szayelapporos randomly got out of character like that to calm him; it was cute. He removed Szayelapporos' hand from his shoulder and took it in his, lacing their fingers together. Szayelapporos' smile grew from the rare sweetness he was bestowing. Nnoitra walked over to the exit hand-in-hand with his mate, when Tetsuki noticed them.

She rose, shoved her crew members aside and ran over to them in a hurry. She grabbed a hold of their shoulders to halt them, huffing. "And just where are you two going?!"

Rolling his eyes, Nnoitra turned his head to peer behind him and shrugged her hand off. He was just so sick of the woman's antics. "Look, Miss Hostess, we don't mean to be rude, but our lead band member just ran off your set and we're kind of worried here. So if you would, please let us go after the knuckle-head." Dear Lord, he just wanted to wretch at how nice he was being to her. Nnoitra Jiruga is, in all aspects, _not_ a nice person at all—and especially to humans! Szayelapporos squeezed his hand for reassurance. Nnoitra slowly exhaled as Tetsuki stepped back from them. He needed to cool his jets.

"Calm down there, boy, I just wanted to know if my crew and I could come. I mean, don't you think this would be a fun adventure?" she lifted her brows and placed her hands on her hips. Szayelapporos slapped his hand against his forehead; Nnoitra twirling a sticky strand of hair to distract himself.

"In my jeep, I'm assuming?" Nnoitra groaned when she nodded, then motioned for them to follow. He retrieved his keys from his pocket on the way there with his free hand. He jiggled them for fun, also swaying Szayelapporos' and his locked hands back and forth. He turned his head to his right and gave Szayelapporos a perverse grin. The act resulted in Szayelapporos punching him on his right arm.

/

THE FAMOUS TETSUKI ROLLED HER EYES BEHIND THE TWO WEIRDOS, then glanced back at her crew to make sure they had their cameras ready. Of course they did not, why would they? _"Get your cameras together you three nimrods! Don't you know this is going to be big for us?" _Tetsuki hiss-whispered to them, revealing her irritation for once. _"It's like filming a romance movie, for crying out loud!"_ she shook her head, stopping when the merry couple did. She wanted to vomit when they exchanged a kiss before parting ways. Well, at least the pink-haired freak had the decency to take the back seat instead of the passenger; he must know her so well.

The aggravated hostess skipped on over to the passenger side and opened the door, sliding on in immediately afterwards (though she had to use the step being so small versus the large jeep). Tetsuki shut the door beside her, then peered into the back seats to make sure her crew set up the cameras right. She nodded her head in approval at their aim then turned her attention to the building in front of her, wondering why she was still in view. "Are you going to drive this thing or what, Mr. Jiruga?" she narrowed her almond eyes at the lanky man.

"I was waiting for your signal." Nnoitra looked at her with a 'durr' expression before starting the engine and putting it into reverse, backing out rather fast and going into drive to speed his way out of the maze-like parking lot. Tetsuki put on her seat belt with crazed eyes and flipped down the passenger mirror to check for any damage to her perfect curls. She smiled at her gorgeous reflection before flipping up the mirror—only to catch how fast the cars flew by. Or rather, how fast _they_ drove past the cars. Her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets and she lightly punched Nnoitra on the arm.

"Are you crazy?! This speed will get us in trouble with the popo!" she exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Careful: we're on in 3…2…1…"

That got her to snap out of it. "Hello!" the hostess beamed into the camera behind her. "This is Kuroyanagi Tetsuki once again and I'm here still with the _Espada Reborn_ band members, currently chasing down the band's popular lead singer after he ran off the set before our commercial break." Tetsuki looked in front of her and noticed that Grimmjow was still out of sight. She looked back to the camera and out on a plastic, reassuring grin before speaking again. "As you can clearly see, Jaegerjaques-san remains invisible to us, but I am positive that our fearless driver—who also happens to be the guitar/bass player—will find him shortly." She held out her microphone to Nnoitra and motioned beneath the camera for her crew to angle it so that Nnoitra could be in view. "Can you give us any kind of background information on why he would react this way, Jiruga-san?" Tetsuki watched the tall guy roll his eyes in response before sighing.

"Look. I never knew that Grimmjow ever even had a relationship with this guy and quite frankly, I don't blame him; dude was hot. Except for the fact that he had little-to-no emotion—scratch that, he literally had no fucking emotions whatsoever. But I guess Grimmjow obviously learned to see past that. Anyways, due to certain circumstances, that no one wants wants to hear the details about, all of our friends kind of died. Grimmjow saved Szayel and I by getting help for us, but the others were nowhere to be found. We all just assumed they were dead." Tetsuki had nodded her head throughout the whole thing, pretending to understand. She watched Nnoitra make a right turn onto a vacant street and drive around in a semi-circle only to hit that same road again. However, she gasped aloud when a motorcycle passed them by on the street they were on. The guy had shocking light blur hair. "Now that I think about it," Nnoitra started again and Tetsuki found it hard to pay attention to him when he had caught up to Grimmjow. "Grimmjow has been acting a little too out-of-character and distant this whole year. No wonder; it all adds up now." Tetsuki hugged herself then, preparing for the chill when Nnoitra suddenly opened the window. "H-hey there, Grimm-kitty! Watcha doin' flyin' down the road at these speeds? You wanna see 'im _that_ badly, eh?" Tetsuki narrowed her eyes in disgust as Nnoitra laughed and teased Grimmjow.

"Fuck you, spoon-head." Tetsuki watched Grimmjow flick them off then kick up his speed to a whole new level as he zoomed away. She covered her mouth after watching their milage track hit the limit, and Nnoitra's deep scowl.

"Oh no that fucker didn't."

/

A LIGHT FLICKERED ABOVE PARTED BRUNETTE HAIR, prompting a man to shout: "can't believe I gotta change those fuckers again. Long bulbs ain't nothin' compared to the small ones. Those bitches always were more efficient." The man who spoke this frowned. He then returned to his small gas station building, cursing along the way. The man with parted hair, currently sweeping the empty lot beneath the flickering station light, shook his head at his boss's complaint. The guy always did have a head full of obnoxious reasons. The brunette wiped at his forehead, for it was beginning to perspire, and looked up at the old TV set that hung above him. It was always set to the news station for curious—or bored—customers to view while they filled their gas tanks. It also almost always brought in good feedback, too, and the cost was slim.

Bob Saggot—the brunette man—was shocked into silence after what relayed on the news, his whistling long since ceased. It had only just hit him that this crazed famous person would be passing his boss's station if the destination relayed by the spokesman proved true. That same individual would also most likely be making a rest stop there if he was doing the speeds Hiroshima-sama reported. Bob dropped his broom and ran to where he kept his belongings every shift to find his notebook. He was not going to miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance to get the bluenette singer's autograph, if his name wasn't Bob Saggot! And as if on cue, as the middle-aged man jogged back outside, a blue Harley pulled up to pump number four. The blue-haired fanatic jumped off his steed and glared on ahead. He had that same scowl etched onto his tanned face that women went crazy over. They described him as a 'deep character' because of it. Bob thought he was simply an angry man. Although, math teachers despised Bob Saggot, aka a certain Mr. Stevens, but that was besides the point to him. The middle-aged man watched Grimmjow grasp the pump line after unlocking his gas lid, then set it in there. Bob crept around the station and gazed at the celebrity in awe. The Wild Cat's eyes flickered to meet bob's, causing the man to squeak in surprise.

"The fuck you gawkin' at, man?!" Grimmjow growled out. Bob shuffled his feet, timidly tense under his menacing glare.

"U-um," Bob managed. "D-do you need a-any help w-with that, S-s-s-s—"

"Don't hurt yourself, moron." Grimmjow cut him off then groaned, running a hand through his blue, tangled tufts of hair. "I'm perfectly well-able to accomplish my task on my own. The question is: are you?"

Bob froze in place, stiffening at his notion. Was he? Apparently not, because Grimmjow had to finish his thought for him:

"You want an autograph, right?"

Bob simply nodded. The young celebrity sighed, and then pulled the handle to reattach it to the pump, being quick to shut the gas lid. He shoved his hands in pockets, walking with a slouch toward Bob. "Now let me get something straight, first" Grimmjow started. "You have to give me some intel as to where this motherfuckin' castle is I'm lookin' for, a'ight?" he staggered to a stop before the short man. Bob Saggot gulped and frantically searched his brain.

_Wait a minute…_"it was a _castle_ you said, right?" Bob miraculously got a hold of himself and spoke. Grimmjow only grunted in response. "It's actually right along the back road you were previously following. Keep on going along it until you spot a tall black tower beyond the dark trees to your left." He placed his hands on his hips, feeling accomplished. He looked up at the taller male to find a coy smirk playing on his lips. "Wh-what?" Grimmjow's smile bloomed into an arrogant grin and he chuckled.

"Just give me your pad," he half-barked. Bob shuddered at the order, and then thrust his pen and notebook at the maniac. Said maniac slid his hands out of his pockets and took the supplies from him. "What's your name, Kid?" _Kid?_ Bob furrowed his eyebrows, a little annoyed.

"It's Bob Saggot." Grimmjow nodded and scrawled out his signature with a few extra lines before handing it back.

"Thanks, man," the Leo coughed out, then jogged back over to his motorcycle. He sped off down the road after he exited before what Grimmjow wrote hit Bob Saggot:

_My advice, human? Quit that shitty job a' yours—it's what's holdin' ya back._

What the fuck did he mean by _human_?!

**4**

AN IVORY HAND RAN THROUGH EBONY STRANDS OF HAIR, shaking still. Ulquiorra let out an exasperated sigh and turned the bathroom door knob, sluggishly making his way down the hallway. He peered around the corner into the living room at Yammy, but was quick to flatten himself against the wall before the Brute spotted him. It was a good thing that Yammy always was a little slow, too because the gigais made it pretty hard to enact his most common assets—such as sneaky maneuvers, for one. However, Yammy was more stubborn than Ulquiorra thought, for the Brute actually rose from the couch and began making his way toward the hallway. Ulquiorra widened his eyes and sprinted like a ninja to make a sharp right to the back right stairwell. As the heavy footsteps drew near, he ascended the staircase in a mousey manner, alert.

"Ulquiorra!" Yammy barked. The footsteps ceased. "You can't keep this up forever, you know" a heavy sigh echoed around the corridor. "Yeesh, and I thought _Grimmjow_ was the child…" Ulquiorra hissed at the mention of his lost love. Yammy seemed to have picked up on his response, too, because the lard's footsteps began again but below the staircase. Ulquiorra backed up to the 'window' in the circular section and watched the stairwell with peerless eyes. Sure enough, Yammy was within his line of sight in approximately ten seconds. The aforementioned 'child' glared in at the brute apprehensively, calculating ways to side-step Yammy. However, he always made for a better door than a window, quite literally.

Ulquiorra sighed, exasperated. "Alright, Yammy—I give in." he looked at him, eyes hard as rock once again. From Yammy's perspective, Ulquiorra appeared to have regained his original, fearless composure. "Now, what do you want?"

Yammy cleared his throat before answering. "Nothing anymore," he turned around abruptly on his heels, but looked back before treading down the staircase (in a loud manner). "Just come hang with me by the TV screen again…whenever!" he called after him nonchalantly.

Ulquiorra now stood alone in the cubbyhole, taking in what just occurred. Yammy had some odd behavior as of late, leaving Ulquiorra curious over just how long his surreal attitude was going to last. He stored away those thoughts to focus on leaving the vacant tower he still stood in, first off, only to clean his now-disastrous kitchen next. The Quarta used little effort in locating and descending the narrow stairwell, and didn't even so much as bat an eye at the Cero brute scavenging through his nearly-empty fridge when he arrived at his destination. "Yammy." he halted his procedure, causing Yammy to cease his hunt.

"'Sup, Ulquiorra~?" he slurred, making it sound more like a statement rather than a question.

"Go gallivanting _outside_, and away from my fridge. You _know_ that the kitchen is off-limits to you, so you will exit _immediately_." Ulquiorra snapped in sentence, but not actually in-tone seeing as he _is_ impassive, after all.

"But what about my chi—"

"On the contraire, I recall giving you specific instructions beforehand that you are to _wait_ on your human product until I personally serve it to you. Am I not correct?" Ulquiorra interrupted the savage, clearly irritated now. What had gotten into him lately? Grimmjow had definitely changed his cold character…

"Alright, _fine_" Yammy pouted. "But ya' betta' make it snappy!" He rose to his feet, then exited the kitchen and out into his favorite living room.

Ulquiorra shook his head and shut the fridge. _Such a tyrant; who is he to order me?_ He scanned the kitchen with dulled eyes, examining to just what extent of cleaning he will have to take. Unfortunately his thoughts were scattered once again when Yammy came bounding back into the kitchen.

"Ulquiorra!" the brute gripped onto the edge of the wall. "Someone's at the door!"

_Well, at least he has enough sense not to answer it, I'll give him that much,_ Ulquiorra thought to himself then casually passed Yammy, turned down the corridor, then made a final right turn (once he reached the end of the hallway), and walked up to the big, mahogany double doors. Ulquiorra opened one of them just enough to show himself only and obscure the background. "Who is i…" he froze mid-sentence, his face draining (of what little color it did have) upon viewing the mysterious visitor.

**6**

SPEEDING DOWN THE DARK AND EMPTY ROAD, Grimmjow turned on the radio on his Harley. Instantaneously, his band's first hit blared around him. He grunted in response and was about to turn it, when an obvious caliginous tower caught his eye. It reigned over the forest of trees to his left. Grimmjow looked back ahead and made his motorcycle speed up before returning his focus to the trees. Sure enough, the tower was attached to a very intimidating castle; but nothing fazed the courageous Sexta, of course. Especially if the rumors rang true and it was merely his long-lost honey who claimed ownership, not some trepid ghost.

Eventually he reached a sort of parting between the abundant forests, paved with a black one-way road. Grimmjow didn't even bother to turn on his left turn-signal, simply making a sharp turn immediately upon approaching it. There was no need to use it, after all, considering he was the only one _out_. He furrowed his brows and followed the narrow street way. Growing anxious for his arrival and more agitated at the choice of song now, he had half a mind to just ditch the Harley as well as his gigai altogether and just sonído his sorry ass to the doorstep. Though he only turned off the offending radio and continued onward. The mere thought of that creepy hat-and-clogs guy coming after him once he sensed his reiatsu renewed his patience.

Grimmjow finally reached the gate entrance with much mirth, and switched off the ignition. Thrusting his keys into his pocket, he put the Harley's kickstand up before scaling the metal gate. He knew it was rude, but his bad-boy mind could give less of two shits. Grimmjow jumped down from the very top, nearly landing on his knees, and made a straight-forward dash for the door, mind dead-set on greeting his beloved. The speed he used would have made a national Track-Star weep at that moment. Grimmjow eased to a breathy halt before the entrance. He leaned against one of the mahogany doors to let the humanized body catch up with him then banged on the door. He waited for around eighteen milliseconds before proceeding to bang again, impatient. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot until the door actually groaned opened to reveal a slightly disheveled Ulquiorra.

"Who is i…" his monotonous voice ceased and his gigai's skin turned snow white as he gave Grimmjow his favorite deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. A mischievous grin now played on the Sexta's lips.

"Aw, don't stop talking now—I want to hear more of that ever-emotionless voice I missed of yours so much." Grimmjow pressed his palm against the second door and leaned a little closer to flash his famous toothy grin down at Ulquiorra's small form. "But do keep that look on your face 'cause you know how much I love that, too~" he cooed. "You going to let me in now, babe? Anytime now would be nice as you should be aware that we have a _lot_ of cat—"

"**No**." Ulquiorra cut him off and blatantly said, slamming the door in Grimmjow's face. His heart nearly split in-two at Ulquiorra's icy words. _What…?!_ ■

**E/N:** I can't even BEGIN to apologize for how insanely _slow_ I am at updating this…but if it helps, I promise you that I am _very_ determined to see this story through to the end, readers! :oD


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